Community Lounge, Introductions and General Discussion Discussion, What are you listening to? in General Discussion; Originally Posted by talismandave
Sorry I have a bunch of old ones around here but not that one! If you ...

Re: What are you listening to?

Dave, what cassettes do you have? I use cassettes when rolling around in the pimpmobile (my burgundy 83 lesabre) and am always looking for new ones to add to the collection.

Probably 70's and 80s rock/pop mostly. I will work on a list or possibly photos to PM you.

Luke, PM me with your address and I will just use it as a ship to address from seller. Was that the one you wanted? If so I will order when I get address and will PM you my address to send payment when you receive it.

Re: What are you listening to?

Originally Posted by orconn

Thank you, Ben, for bring IZ to my attention. I enjoyed his rendition of "Over the Rainbow." It also brought back the memory of another Hawaiian entertainer who I enjoyed very much and was fortunate to have known and seen perform on many occasions.

His name was Kui Lee, I don't know whether he is still highly thought of in the Islands, but in the mid sixties, just before he died at age 34, he was considered one of the very best of the Hawaiian singer songwriters. At the time I knew him, Spring of 1966 (just before he died of cancer) he was performing nightly at the old Queen's Surf supper club. The Queen's Surf was located on park land in Kapiolani Park next store to the Waikiki Aquarium. A group of us grad students who lived at the aquarium used to sit on the beach, which was the backside of the open stage where Kui Lee performed. Since we were an almost nightly presence at his performances we got to know him, and when things were slow he would invite us in for a drink during the break between his shows. It was a rare treat to know on a casual basis a performer who would become known in his final days as one of Hawaii's foremost performers and songwriters. Many of the songs that Don Ho became famous for and performed down in the Hawaiian Market place were written by Kui. Now Don Ho is gone too, but I am sure there are new young performers to keep his music alive.

(While amny of you may not have heard of Kui Lee, you have probably heard the song that he wrote and which became famous to a greater American audience when Elvis presley recorded it, "I'll Remember You."

I never have heard of Kui Lee, well until now, but I am not the best example of Hawaiian people! It's almost one year that I am hear and still there are a lot of things to learn....

Kapiolani Park is my spot! It's quiet, it is not occupied by tourists, you can relax, rest, and enjoy the park and the ocean!

Re: What are you listening to?

That's right, Ben, in those days (until at least when I was last in Honolulu in 1987) graduate students from the U of H could get free room at the aquarium in exchange for answering the phone after hours till ten o'clock and performing general watchman duties after the aquarium closed for the evening. Not a bad exchange for getting to live right on the beach (next to some of the best reefs in the Islands).

Now when I say we got living quarters rent free, I don't mean we were living in the lap of luxury! There were six of us and we had steel army beds which sat on 4 x 8 foot sheets of plywood that were supported over the various display tanks by 2x4's with a skylight for a roof. My own bed was over the electric eel's tank, the only draw back being that when the aquarium opened in the morning the aquariumist would dump the eel's breakfast in the tank, which being an "electric" eel caused the beast to discharge shocks into the water. The tank was wired with an oscilloscope which was attached to a amplifier and speaker so when the eel did his thing a loud static noise out in the display area. Couldn't sleep late with that racket going on! (not that you wanted to; it got too hot in the sky light anyway!)

There were many fringe benefits also to be had by living at the aquarium, aside from being a short walk to Waikiki, we also had free sea food (as fresh as possible) awaiting us in the holding tanks! Often the aquariumist and us would have fresh sashimi or sushi. Another side benefit was learning how to train dolphins and seals that were on display in large pools outside the main building. One of the biggest bennies of living there was being right nextdoor to the "Queen's Surf Restaurant" and the famous "Barefoot Bar." in the mid 1960's the Queen's Surf nightclub was one of the most highly thought of night spots frequented by both visitors and locals. That is how I got to know Kui Lee and many of of the beautiful Polynesian girls who danced in the famous Puka Puka Otea dance show (and they were beauties!). Some of the dancers were also students up at Manoa. In those days you didn't have to be a paying customer to enjoy the various shows at the Q's Surf; you could just sit in the sand between the stage and the surf and take the whole thing in for free.

The Queen's Surf Restaurant was torn down in 1972 and Honolulu lost one of its' great night spots enjoyed by local folks as well as tourists. I understand that the park where the QS stood became a haven for the homeless at one point and people stopped enjoying the nice stretch of beach know as Queen's Surf Beach. Hopefully the addition of the new Queen's Surf snack bar and restaurant which came into being a few years ago has helped this park and beach regain some of it's former glory.

I am glad to hear that you have found and are enjoying Kapiolani Park. Do they local people still use this park for family get togethers and parties? You might want to try the new Queen's Surf Lanai, I understand that they serve excellent grilled fresh fish dinners on certain nights of the week!

As you can tell I thoroughly enjoyed my semester at the EastWest Center at Manoa. In those days there weren't a lot of haole girls in Honolulu or at the university ..... but if you liked Pacific Rim beauties the U of H was the world's best candy shop!

Re: What are you listening to?

Living at the aquarium, that should be very interesting! I am not sure still there are students living there or not! As for the aquarium, Waikiki aquarium is now very proud of being the first aquarium in the world which could breed Hawaiian seahorse in captivity.

To my surprise, there is no homeless in Kapiolani park! May be Honolulu police department has been very strict lately about enforcing park hours and controlling homeless people. But after dark the main beach park in Waikiki area (Kuhio beach park ?) is totally occupied by homeless people!

Yes, locals still use Kapiolani park for getting together. This park is more a local place, you don't see a lot of tourists there. Ala Moana beach park is normally used by locals for such parties too. You really can not find a lot of tourists in this park too...

EastWest center is still providing very affordable housing for graduate students, I think the last thing I heard was about three hundreds something dollars a month!

I am starting to "feel at home" in Hawaii! It is very strange! I have been moving from one place to another all my life, and I always have been "the outsider", "the new guy", or "the stranger"! But somehow now I feel that Hawaii is my home, this feeling is new! It may have something to do with the fact that I am not student anymore and I have a life and a job here. Another reason that comes into mind is that anyone and any living thing in Hawaii is an outsider!